Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (Disney Moderate Resort) Reviews and Ratings - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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All told, CBR was not more than expected. We booked here because it was the only resort left with free dining rooms when I booked. While it was not my ideal choice, I was still looking forward to seeing this resort and imagined it would perhaps pleasantly surprise me. In the end, we had a nice vacation, but the resort failed to impress me.
The pirate theme in our room was cute, but it was not executed well enough to overcome the overall "motel" feel of the resort. I honestly feel as though the rooms at Pop Century are a little nicer, if smaller! When I was researching CBR, I felt the emphasis on how far apart things were was probably overblown, because many people feel as though walking a relatively short distance is a large inconvenience. The resort, though, is indeed quite spread out and not quite manageable for walking, say, to get a coffee in the morning (and I am an avid hiker). Our walk from the Custom House to our room took about 25 minutes (but was a pleasant and lovely stroll). I'd equate the walk between our room at the southern end of Trinidad South and Center Town to be nearly the distance to walk from French Quarter to Riverside.
On the plus side, we were near the bus station and we rarely waited long for a bus to the parks. Return bus service, however, was not adequate for a resort of CBR's size, and could not accommodate the crowds that amassed -- one night at Epcot, the line spilled out of its "pen" and overtook the entire sidewalk behind it, as well as the adjacent stop. I've read recently that Disney is planning to roll out articulated buses (which are widely used here in Seattle), which should do a lot to alleviate the problem, especially at peak times.
Positive points for our room go to bell services, who delivered our groceries within 10 minutes of calling down for them. Amenities, though, did not feel all that "moderate" to me. Our towels were worn and thin, and the soaps and shampoo weren't of a good quality (...even though we never used any, mousekeeping kept restocking them everyday, perhaps thinking we wanted to take them all home as souvenirs ). Our first refrigerator was warm on the highest setting, and we actually had to argue with mousekeeping for a new one to be sent over. The replacement kept things cold, though. The pirate ship beds were not adequately sized for two adults to share with the configuration of the ship's curved "bow" (my husband repeatedly smacked his head on it) and had very thin (but not as uncomfortable as reported) mattresses. Drawer storage was plentiful, but the room needed more hooks for hanging things like ponchos, jackets, pajamas, etc. Lastly, my husband found a large cockroach in the shower our last morning. The roach, though, doesn't bother me an awful lot....it is Florida after all.
I can't comment on food and beverage offerings because we never ate at our resort. My husband forgot a comb and deodorant, though, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the resort's gift shop doesn't gouge you for these kids of items. Prices were similar to a grocery store's. The gift shop had a nice selection of souvenirs, too, but no CBR charms for your charm bracelet!
Aside from our argument about the refrigerator, service was uniformly pleasant and everything one expects from Disney. I'm glad I saw this resort once, and I'll reiterate that the grounds were beautiful and immaculate, but I do not need to see this resort again. In honesty, if I thought 3 adults could exist comfortably in one of POP's rooms, I'd pick POP over CBR. POR remains my moderate pick (especially those new royal rooms, they look awesome!) and AKL is my deluxe pick.
DD, my BFF and I stayed here for 8 days in 2012. I have some health issues so I requested a room close to the main building and pool and we got it. We were a very short walk from the main area in the Martinique area building 26.
We had no problem at all with Mousekeeping and had towel animals several days while we were there. We always had plenty of towels and the rooms were cleaned nicely every day while we were at the parks.
The food court was great, lots of choices and the food was always very tasty. We also loved the gift shop, the selection of Caribbean type merchandise was wonderful.
We didn't have perfect bus service, but it was good for Disney in May. I don't think we ever waited more than 30 minutes for a bus, either to the parks or back from the parks. They were crowded, but I expected that during a busy time at Disney.
The room itself was beautiful, very well themed and spacious. I especially loved the grounds. I would wake up early in the mornings and head out with my camera for some quiet time and take pictures of the lovely flora and the sweet family of ducks living in the bushes by our room. We absolutely loved the beach, one of my favorite shots of the trip is the sun setting over the beach, simply beautiful. We also loved the fact that we could get a drink at the pool bar and sit and watch Disney movies at night. Also, the fireworks from Epcot (the higher ones) were visible from our beach.
All in all, I think DD and I have found our "home" resort as we will be returning to CBR in February of 2014.